An independent watchdog has rated Whittington Health NHS Trust as Good in its latest report.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the trust’s services to be good overall, while its community health services, which provide more than 793,000 patient contacts each year, has been rated as Outstanding.

Inspectors, visiting in December and January, found that staff went the extra mile to make sure their approach was friendly and inclusive.

The report said staff from different areas of the trust worked together as a team to benefit patients.

After talking to trust staff they concluded that most felt supported and valued.

CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, Prof Ted Baker, said: “Whittington Health NHS Trust has a clear vision and set of values with quality and sustainability as the top priorities.

“This underpinned a culture which is patient centred.

“I was delighted to see that the trust was rated Outstanding in CQC’s caring category and for its community services.”

The CQC rated the Trust as Good in its last report in 2018.

The trust’s chief exec, Siobhan Harrington, said: “Since our last CQC inspection we have dealt with increasing challenges and demands for our services.

“It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of my colleagues that despite this, all of our services maintained or improved their overall rating.

“I am especially proud that our community health services are now rated as Outstanding.”

Statistics obtained by this paper show that the trust only cancelled between 85 and 96 operations last year, while 10,398 procedures went ahead as planned.

The number of cancelled operations is stated within a range because trusts do not provide figures that are less than five for each calendar month, due to data protection rules.

The trust cancelled fewer than five operations due to bed shortages last year.

All non-urgent surgery across the NHS is now set to be postponed for at least three months from April 15, as the heath service frees up beds to deal with the coronavirus epidemic.

The trust provides hospital and community care services to 500,000 people living in Islington and Haringey as well as other London boroughs including Barnet, Enfield, Camden and Hackney.